Books to Look Forward to From Headline Publishers

January 2021

On a bright sunny day in Port Silver, ex-journalist Martin Scarsden misses a call from his girlfriend Mandy. Checking his voicemail later, all he hears is her terrified scream before the phone cuts off. Back at the house, he finds a policeman unconscious on the floor, and Mandy gone. So starts a twisting tale of intrigue and danger, as Martin probes the past of the woman he loves, a woman who has buried her former life deep. And for the first time, Mandy finds denial impossible, now the body of a man has been discovered - a man to whom she was engaged to marry. It's time to face her demons once and for all; it's time she learned how to trust. Trust is by Chris Hammer.

Run For Cover is by Michael Ledwidge. On the run from a shadowy cabal of the world's most powerful men, ex-Navy Seal Michael Gannon heads to the safest place he can think of: his war buddy's ranch in the wilds of Utah. But when his friend's brother is found dead in the rocky mountains, Gannon realizes he can't stay off grid. Is the death connected to a string of grisly murders occurring in national parks...or something even more sinister? Flushed from cover, Gannon finds himself sucked into a lethal conspiracy that has infiltrated the highest levels of the US government.

February 2021

Shiver is by Allie Reynolds. When Milla is invited to a reunion in the French Alps resort that saw the peak of her snowboarding career, she drops everything to go. While she would rather forget the events of that winter, the invitation comes from Curtis, the one person she can't seem to let go. The five friends haven't seen each other for ten years, since the disappearance of the beautiful and enigmatic Saskia. But when an icebreaker game turns menacing, they realise they don't know who has really gathered them there and how far they will go to find the truth. In a deserted lodge high up a mountain, the secrets of the past are about to come to light.

The charred remains of an elderly woman are discovered in a burned-out game-keepers cottage, hidden away in woodland to the west of Edinburgh. Clearly no accidental fire, Detective Inspector Tony McLean suspects that neither is this simply a grim arson attack. There is far more to the victim than her humble surroundings might suggest, and something ritualistic to her horrific murder. Nor will it be the only case of death by fire that Tony and his team will be faced with. This is only the beginning, and with such evil clouding the air, Tony begins to wonder what else will burn . . . What Will Burn is by James Oswald.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It is by Elle Cosimano. Finlay Donovan, single mum and floundering crime writer, is having a hard time. Her ex-husband went behind her back to fire the nanny, and this morning she sent her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an unfortunate incident with scissors. Making it to lunch with her literary agent is a minor victory but, as she's discussing the plot of her latest crime novel, the conversation is misinterpreted by a woman sitting nearby as that of a hit-woman offering her services to dispose of a 'problem' husband. And when the woman slips Finlay a name and a promise of a large sum of cash, Finlay finds herself plotting something much bigger than her novel. And, after all, they do always say: write what you know. . .

March 2021

Blackout is by Simon Scarrow. Berlin, December 1939As Germany goes to war, the Nazis tighten their terrifying grip. Paranoia in the capital is intensified by a rigidly enforced blackout that plunges the city into oppressive darkness every night, as the bleak winter sun set.When a young woman is found brutally murdered, Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke is under immense pressure to solve the case, swiftly. Treated with suspicion by his superiors for his failure to join the Nazi Party, Schenke walks a perilous line - for disloyalty is a death sentence.The discovery of a second victim confirms Schenke's worst fears. He must uncover the truth before evil strikes again.As the investigation takes him closer to the sinister heart of the regime, Schenke realises there is danger everywhere - and the warring factions of the Reich can be as deadly as a killer stalking the streets . ..

What if today was your last day... A bomb has exploded during a fashion show, killing a beautiful model on the catwalk. The murderer is still at large... and he may strike again. Yet this is the least of Police Commissioner Christian Verger's worries. His fiancee Viola has left him. He has to keep his tumultuous past a secret. To make things worse, his voice assistant Alexa is 99.74% sure he will die tomorrow. Moving from snowy 1980s Montana to chic 1990s Manhattan to a drone-filled 2030s Britain, Future Perfect is by Felicia Yap and is an electrifying race to solve a murder before it's too late. Yet it is also a love story, a riveting portrait of a couple torn apart by secrets, grief and guilt. A twisted tale of how the past can haunt a person's future and be used to predict if he will die... or kill.

Breakout is by Paul Herron. A lethal storm. The most deadly prison. Who will survive the night? Jack Constantine - a former cop who killed one of his wife's murderers in an act of vengeance - is serving his time in Ravenhill penitentiary, a notorious 'supermax' home to the most dangerous convicts in the country. When an apocalyptic superstorm wreaks havoc across the USA, the correctional officers flee the prison...but not before opening every cell door. The inmates must fend for themselves as lethal floodwaters rise and violent anarchy is unleashed. Teaming up with Kiera Sawyer, a Correctional Officer left behind on her first day of work, Constantine has one chance of survival - he must break out of a maximum security prison. But with the building on the verge of collapse, and deadly chaos around him, time is running out...

April 2021

1606. A year to the day that men were executed for conspiring to blow up Parliament, a towering wave devastates the Bristol Channel. Some proclaim God's vengeance. Others seek to take advantage.In London, Daniel Pursglove lies in prison waiting to die. But Charles FitzAlan, close adviser to King James I, has a job in mind that will free a man of Daniel's skill from the horrors of Newgate. If he succeeds.For Bristol is a hotbed of Catholic spies, and where better for the lone conspirator who evaded arrest, one Spero Pettingar, to gather allies than in the chaos of a drowned city? Daniel journeys there to investigate FitzAlan's lead, but soon finds himself at the heart of a dark Jesuit conspiracy - and in pursuit of a killer. The Drowned City is by K J Maitland.

A Darker Reality is by Anne Perry. The threat of a second world war means no one is safe... Elena Standish, a young English photographer working for MI5, is on holiday in America, attending her grandparents’ golden wedding anniversary party in Washington DC, when one of the guests is murdered. It is a hit and run by a car that belongs to Elena’s grandfather and he is immediately arrested. With connections to many political circles, including a close link to the President, Elena’s grandfather is convinced that his enemies are trying to frame him. And with the help of handsome British spy James Allenby, Elena must uncover the truth before it is too late... 

Forfeit is by Barbara Nadel. Double murder. Dark secrets Bitter betrayal It is the early hours of the morning when Turkish TV star Erol Gencer and Syrian refugee Wael Al Hussain are found dead at a house on the outskirts of Istanbul, but it is unclear whether Erol killed Wael before committing suicide or if it was a double murder. Inspector Mehmet Suleyman is on leave, as his teenage son is visiting from Ireland, but when Detective Kemil Gursel’s transsexual ex-lover, Pembe, is also murdered shortly after confessing that Wael had been one of her clients, Suleyman knows he must step in to help Kemil solve this complex case. Meanwhile, retired inspector Cetin Ikmen is pursuing the truth behind Wael’s wife’s story that she and Erol’s wife, Betul, had met over a year ago and plotted to kill each other’s husbands. From different directions, Ikmen and Suleyman close in on a killer whose double life has lead to greed, betrayal and murder... 

Inspector Lu Fei is a weary cop in a remote, northern Chinese town where the theft of a few chickens counts as a major crime. But when a young woman is brutally murdered - with her heart, lungs and liver removed - he suddenly finds himself under intense scrutiny from the ruling party in Beijing. Determined to find her killer, Lu Fei must navigate a society where politics can be deadly, corruption is rife, and the powerful are protected. As evidence connects the case a string of unsolved murders, Lu must decide what he is prepared to risk in search of justice. City of Ice is by Brian Klingborg.

Books to look forward to from Headline Publishers

On a buzzing Istanbul street, in the fashionable district of Beyoglu, a young man drops dead. Umit Kavas's death was natural but the contents of his stomach betray a shocking truth: his last meal was human flesh. Under desperate pressure from their superiors, Inspector Cetin Ikmen and his colleague Mehmet Suleyman begin the most obscure investigation of their careers. How did Umit Kavas- apparently a good, liberal man - come to partake in the greatest taboo of all? Did he act alone? And who was the victim who met such a gruesome end? Soon they find themselves embroiled in a dark web of seemingly unconnected worlds: of Turkey's old secular elite; of a community of squatters; and a new gastronomy scene breaking every boundary. But where does the truth lie?  On the Bone is by Barbara Nadel and is due to be published in January 2016.

William Monk faces an old enemy determined to take revenge for an act committed many years - before he lost his memory. Anne Perry's outstanding new historical mystery takes us on a thrilling ride into Monk's past, as adversaries he cannot remember threaten everything he holds dear.  Revenge in a Cold River is by Anne Perry and is due to be published in April 2016.

Quintin Jardine's twenty-sixth Bob Skinner mystery sees the Edinburgh sleuth plunged into a gruelling new case in which no score will go unsettled. Enjoying life as a private citizen after a thirty-year police career, Bob Skinner is on the way to answer a friend's plea for help when a freak accident gives him an unwelcome glimpse of the dark side. As his former colleagues investigate the mystery of a dead child in the boot of a stolen car, the ex-Chief Constable undertakes an unusual challenge of his own, tracing a missing multi-million pound yacht that has vanished from its moorings. The two events seem unconnected, yet as the casualty count rises, is there a link that no one has seen? The whodunnit is clear. The mystery is: why.  Private Investigations is due to be published in May 2016.

A Savage Hunter is by Claire  McGowan and is due to be published in March 2016.  Victim: Female. Twenty-two years of age. Reason for investigation: Missing person. ID: Alice Morgan. Student. Last seen at a remote religious shrine in Ballyterrin. Alice Morgan's disappearance raises immediate questions for forensic psychologist Paula Maguire. Alice, the daughter of a life peer in the Home Office, has vanished along with a holy relic - the bones of a saint - and the only trace is the bloodstains on the altar. With no body to confirm death, the pressure in this high-profile case is all-consuming, and Paula knows that she will have to put her own life, including her imminent marriage, on hold, if they are to find the truth. A connection to a decades-old murder immediately indicates that all may not be as it seems; as the summer heat rises and tempers fray, can Alice be found or will they learn that those that are hungry for vengeance may be the most savage of all?

David Churchill's The Leopards of Normandy trilogy continues with Duke, as William of Normandy inherits his father's title and assumes command of his lands. William the Bastard, boy Duke of Normandy, is alone in a world filled with enemies. His father, Robert, is dead and the men chosen to protect William are falling prey, one by one, to a conspiracy controlled and manipulated by a man who has spent a lifetime being mocked and ridiculed, but now burns with the need to be feared and obeyed. In England, two women, equally matched in their beauty, strength and limitless ambition, seek power through their sons. They wield no swords and command no armies but their struggle for the Crown is as bitter as any war. And between them stands Godwin, Earl of Wessex, seeking to build a dynasty that will outlast them all. One day, William will join the struggle for dominion over England. But for now he must fight just to survive, to reach manhood and then to impose his will on those who would oppose him. Including the young woman he wants for his wife.  The Leopards of Normandy: Duke is due to be published in April 2016.

Find Her is by Lisa Gardner and is due to be published in February 2016.I escaped. My

name is Flora Dane and I was kidnapped from a beach on spring break. I spent 472 days with my captor before I was found. I survived. And I've spent the last five years trying to reacquaint myself with the rhythms of my life. But everything is different. My relationships are fractured. I've had to learn how to protect myself, how to live in this dangerous new world. I'm reckless. I know that there are other predators out there and I'll do anything to stop them. Now I've killed a man, who I suspect may be involved in another girl's disappearance. Detective D.D. Warren doesn't trust me. She doesn't know whether I am a victim or a vigilante. Sometimes neither do I. But all she needs to know is that I can help. And that I'll put myself in danger again if I need to. Because the only thing that's important is to Find Her.

Her Husband’s Lover is by Julia Crouch and is due to be published in June 2016.  After the horrors of the past, Louisa Williams is desperate to make a clean start.  Her husband Sam is dead.  Her children, too, are gone, victims of the car accident in which he died.  Sam said that they would never get away from him.  That she would hound Lisa until she died if she tried to leave.  Louisa never thought that he would want to harm their children though.  But then she never thought that he would betray her with a girl like Sophie.  And now Sophie is determined to take all Louisa has left.  She wants to destroy her reputation and to take what she thinks is owed her – the life she would have had if Sam lived.  Her husband’s lover wants to take her life.  The only question is will Louisa let her?

Reader, I murdered him. A darkly brilliant Gothic retelling of Jane Eyre from the Edgar-nominated author of the Timothy Wilde series.  Like the heroine of the novel she adores, Jane Steele suffers cruelly at the hands of her aunt and schoolmaster. And like Jane Eyre, they call her wicked - but in her case, she fears the accusation is true. When she flees, she leaves behind the corpses of her tormentors. A fugitive navigating London's underbelly, Jane rights wrongs on behalf of the have-nots whilst avoiding the noose. Until an advertisement catches her eye. Her aunt has died and the new master at Highgate House, Mr Thornfield, seeks a governess. Anxious to know if she is Highgate's true heir, Jane takes the position and is soon caught up in the household's strange spell. When she falls in love with the mysterious Charles Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma: can she possess him - body, soul and secrets - and what if he discovers her murderous past?  Jane Steele is by Lyndsay Faye and is due to be published in March 2016.

Also due to be published in February 2016 is Breakdown by Jonathan Kellerman.

Tastes Like Fear is by Sarah Hilary and is due to be published in April 2016.  You'll never be out of Harm's way. The young girl who causes the fatal car crash disappears from the scene. A runaway who doesn't want to be found, she only wants to go home. To the one man who understands her. Gives her shelter. Just as he gives shelter to the other lost girls who live in his house. He's the head of her new family. He's Harm. DI Marnie Rome has faced many dangerous criminals but she has never come up against a man like Harm. She thinks that she knows families, their secrets and their fault lines. But as she begins investigating the girl's disappearance nothing can prepare her for what she's about to face. Because when Harm's family is threatened, everything tastes like fear...

Death Do Us Part is by Steven Dunne and is due to be published in May 2016.  Even death cannot part these couples...D I Damen Brook is on a rare period of leave and determined to make the most of it by re-connecting with his daughter Terri. But with her heavy drinking proving a challenge, Brook takes the opportunity to visit a local murder scene when his help is requested. An elderly couple have each been executed with a single shot to the heart and the method echoes that of a middle-aged gay couple killed the previous month. With the same killer suspected and the officer currently in charge nearing retirement, Brook knows that he has little choice but to cut short his leave when forced by his superiors to take the lead on the case. Brook believes that he can catch this ruthless killer, but already distracted by Terri's problems, is he about to make a fatal mistake and lead the killer right to his own door?

Psychologist Mailin Bjerke is due to appear on the notorious TV show Taboo, tackling its most sensational subject yet. But she never arrives at the studio.  As the police struggle to find any sign of Mailin, her sister Liss, living on the edge in Amsterdam, takes matters into her own hands. Flying home to Olso, she discovers a complex backdrop of friends and enemies, where no one can be relied upon to tell the truth. Her battle is made harder by the fractured memories of a childhood where Mailin was always her protector, and by the secrets she must keep hidden.  And she has no idea that Mailin's disappearance is somehow connected to a chance meeting more than a decade before...  Death by Water is by Torkil Damhaug and is due to be published in May 2016.

Also due to be published in June 2016 is The Dead Women of Deptford by Anne Granger.